MEPT Announces the Acquisition of Parkway Village in Houston, TX

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Multi-Employer Property Trust (MEPT) (www.mept.com) and Bentall Kennedy, real estate advisor to MEPT, are pleased to announce MEPT's recent purchase of  Parkway Village, a 134,000 square foot grocery-anchored community center in Houston, TX.  The transaction was brokered by the Houston office of Holiday Fenoglio Fowler (HFF). 

"Parkway Village fits with MEPT's strategy to acquire well-located, well-leased, high-performance, grocery-anchored retail centers across the U.S. We believe Parkway Village will generate stable income for MEPT since it is over 90% leased, anchored by the local, dominant grocer in the market, has minimum near-term rollover and serves an affluent, densely populated area," stated David Antonelli, Executive Vice President and MEPT Portfolio Manager, at Bentall Kennedy. "Furthermore, the local submarket – the Energy Corridor - has outpaced comparable markets in job growth and demand which should help drive growth in retail sales at Parkway Village."

Houston's healthy economy is triggering population and wage growth and industry sectors that serve the local population such as retail trade and construction are reaping the benefits. Parkway Village is currently 96% leased to 29 national, regional and local retailers and is anchored by Kroger. MEPT believes consumer demand for necessity goods will continue to drive sales growth and the center is well positioned to remain one of the premier grocery-anchored centers in the area, attracting both local consumers and quality tenants. 

Parkway Village is approximately 12 miles west of Downtown Houston in the Energy Corridor submarket. The property benefits from its proximity to Interstate 10 as well as its location at the corner of Eldridge Parkway and Briar Forest Drive, two of the main thoroughfares in the direct market. 

The Energy Corridor is a master-planned business district and the second-largest suburban office market in Houston, housing major employers such as Exxon Chemical, ConocoPhillips, Shell, Transocean, Citgo, Sysco, KBR, Global Santa Fe, and British Petroleum. The expansion of single-family homes, multi-family neighborhoods and retail amenities in the area have made the Energy Corridor a vibrant community and elevated the district into one of Houston's most desirable submarkets in which to live and work.

"With the acquisition of Parkway Village, over the last two years, MEPT has successfully made retail investments of approximately $500 million in nine different U.S. markets in order to further its strategic plan," stated David Nielsen, Senior Vice President, Acquisitions, Bentall Kennedy. "We continue to seek attractive investment opportunities for the Fund.  Our focus remains on identifying grocery-anchored retail centers in urban infill or established suburban neighborhoods, high-quality CBD office properties, and multi-family assets in urban markets serving the Echo-Boom generation."

About MEPT

MEPT is a $5.6 billion, open-end commingled real estate equity fund that invests in a diversified portfolio of institutional-quality real estate assets in 30 major metropolitan markets across the U.S. Founded in 1982, MEPT is owned by approximately 360 multi-employer, public employee and corporate pension plans. MEPT is recognized as a pioneer in Responsible Property Investing (RPI) and is one of the largest U.S. real estate funds that is signatory to the UN Principals for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) and the top-ranked diversified fund in the U.S. for sustainability and environmental performance by the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB). Please visit www.mept.com to learn more.

MEPT is managed by NewTower Trust Company which serves as trustee, fiduciary and investment manager. Bentall Kennedy serves as the real estate investment advisor. Landon Butler & Company, LP^® provides investor relations services.

About Bentall Kennedy

Bentall Kennedy is one of North America's largest real estate investment advisors and one of its foremost providers of real estate services. Bentall Kennedy serves the interests of more than 500 clients across 140 million square feet of office, retail, industrial, residential and hotel properties totaling $29.8 billion throughout North America. Bentall Kennedy has a 100-year track record of delivering superior returns and a reputation for integrity, innovation and creating value. Bentall Kennedy is a member of UN PRI and is a recognized global leader in Responsible Property Investing. Bentall Kennedy includes Bentall Kennedy (Canada) Limited Partnership and Bentall Kennedy (U.S.) Limited Partnership. For more information, please visit www.bentallkennedy.com.

Contact: 
Pamela Silberman, SVP, Landon Butler & Company, MEPT Investor Relations/Media
[email protected] 
Phone: 202-737-8824

Forward looking statements are subject to change due to market conditions or investment strategy execution, and past performance is not indicative of future results. Any assumptions should not be construed to be indicative of the actual events that will occur.

SOURCE Multi-Employer Property Trust